How many nest boxes ?

David Livingston

steward

Posts: 2608

Location: Anjou ,France

102

posted 2 years ago

I have been thinking about building an ark ( yes I have read the thread about arks and Pauls dislike ) but its only for 3/4 Hens , eggs for myself and my GF . My question is how many nest boxes should I have for 3/4 hens . I have read that the hens like to nest in the same box so should I build just one nest box?

David

Living in Anjou , France
http://www.permies.com/t/80/31583/projects/Permie-Pennies-France#330873

Renate Howard

pollinator

Posts: 755

Location: zone 6b

9

posted 2 years ago

Yes one, unless you hope one will go broody then you may want another one because she'll be taking up one for 3 weeks.

My friend just told me about these, you can repurpose 5 gallon paint buckets from construction sites or use the ones icing or salads come in from bakeries/delis. The great thing about these is, they are removable so if one hen goes broody you could move her and the nest to a safe place then put another identical nest box in the same place and you wouldn't have to deal with your hens adding their fresh eggs to the broody hen's half-incubated eggs.

David, I have very much the situation you describe - three hens, just for eggs for two people, (started with four hens, but then one of them was not a hen after all), and a somewhat restricted liviing arrangement for them.

Renate, those buckets work, but so do the buckets that cat litter comes in, and they are flat sided, making them much easier to stack if needed.
Definitely some benefits to being able to remove the boxes easily.